Her Smile
by lionsloyal
Summary: A one-shot about the first time Gale developed feelings for Katniss. Please enjoy and review.


**Hi! I read Hunger Games for the first time little over two weeks ago and I loved it. So of course I had to write a fan fiction for it. This is a one-shot that tells about the first time Gale develops feelings for Katniss, I hope you like and enjoy. And please review. **

**Her smile **

The sun is strong overhead today. I can feel the heat on the back of my already tanned skin. Having an olive complexion means that I don't burn easily, lucky since I spend so much time outside. Unfortunately in a few years the sunshine will be blocked from me. I will be miles under the earth that I relish to stand, to hunt upon. And like a mole or a creature of the dark I will scurry in the dark mines, doing back-breaking, exerting work. I knew it was going to happen but I couldn't accept it really. I wasn't meant to lurk in the dark like phantoms of the night. I was meant to be in bright light or even the rain. Anything but down there. But like everyone in district twelve we had little or no choice.

The only people who got away from the mines were those who had to keep other things running, like businesses that kept District Twelve from going completely under. They were also there to serve the Peacekeepers. Out of all the districts we were last of the line, the most poverty stricken, the ones starving half the time. Everything we mined went to the Capitol, and how I hated those cold hearted imbeciles. It made me so angry thinking about how they'd put us here, slave driving us. Why were they better than us? They weren't. We were the ones who were superior to them. I was waiting for a revolution, and the day it came…I would be the first one wielding my weapons, because I don't care if I'd end up dead, not if it meant that everyone I cared about could be free from here, from this life.

I didn't want my family to end up like the future me, mining. After my father died I never wanted a different world so badly. I'd always hated this District, the scummy dirty air that hung over us. And when my father was killed in a mine explosion, hatred and aggression pulsed through every nerve in my body. I wanted revenge on the people who had put us in the inevitable slaughter house. We would all die young; it was a rarity for anyone to live long past fifty, if that. But would anyone want to live longer than they had to in a hell hole? I would if it meant seeing a revolution.

I came up to the hole in the fence. I glanced over my shoulder, but no one was around, and if they saw they wouldn't stop me anyway. I quickly ducked under and disappeared instantly into the foliage. The air was already cleaner in just a few steps and I felt like I could finally breathe after being submerged in murky waters for so long. These were the only things I had to look forward to these days. The further I moved away from the fence of our district the better I felt. My whole body felt cleaner inhaling fresh air, my head felt clearer and calmer. Everything instantly soothed by the tweeting of birds, just forest noises. I was on my way to my haven, no, our haven. Katniss would be waiting for me in our given place. We always met there and then we would hunt. We'd met in this forest little under a year ago. I'd hadn't heard the sound of her footsteps, and as I walked towards my kill from the snare I'd wired up,

I saw her. I wasn't used to that, seeing before having the forewarning of sound.

But there she was stood staring at my kill hanging from the tree. She was like most in our district, a starved little thing. Her olive skin was dirty like everyone else's. Who bothers to wash when no-one is clean? Her clothes were equally as filthy and she stood gazing up at my rabbit. Her face was blank but I was sure that from her eyes I could see a glint of fascination. I'm sure I'd seen her around. She extended a hand as though to touch it, and that's when I stepped out from the tree I'd been watching her from. 'That's dangerous', I told her in what I knew was a condescending voice. I'd walked over to her and asked in the same tone, 'what's your name?'

'Catnip', she said quietly. I'd thought what a weird name to call your child.

'Well, Catnip stealing's punishable by death, or hadn't you heard?'

'Katniss', she said, 'And I wasn't stealing it. I just wanted to look at your snare. Mine never catch anything.'

I wasn't sure, I mean she was a skinny little thing, I doubted she could hunt, 'So where'd you get the squirrel?' I asked suspiciously, she might have stolen it from another one of my snares.

'I shot it', she answered shortly.

She pulled the bow off her shoulder and I stared at it surprised for a moment. 'Can I see that?' I asked her.

Katniss handed it over to me, 'Just remember, stealing's punishable by death.' I flashed a grin unable to keep one back. But she didn't smile back at me, she remained stony faced and indifferent.

My feet touched the ground in silence; the forest's creatures didn't hear me. It was a talent that was essential of a hunter. To be unheard meant food would be brought home. I made my way to I and Katniss' usual meeting place. It wasn't too far in the forest but not too near the fence either. I pass the familiar trees and come out into the small clearing. Katniss is sat on the ground waiting for me already. She stands up as she sees me. 'Shall we get going then?' I ask her.

'Yes', she answers, neither of us ever say hello.

'We're carrying on with the bow and arrow', I state rather than ask.

'Yes', she says. 'Let's get a vantage point'.

We walk silently through the forest for a couple of minutes before Katniss stops and looks up the tree. 'This one's good', she tells me before hoisting herself up athletically and climbing up the branches. I watch for a moment before she stops and perches, 'Well?' she asks me. 'Come on'. She's very impatient today; I wonder what's wrong with her.

I climb for tree in about the same time she did, but not because I have her speed, but my height is my advantage. I sit on the branch below her. Its clear Katniss has assessed how far my weight will let me go. Any further up and the branch would break. 'What's wrong with you today?' I ask her.

'Nothing's wrong', she replies in a tone that implies there is.

'Katniss, I think it's time you just admitted it- we're friends now, you can tell me whatever you like. What's said in the forest stays in the forest.'

'It's…' she's struggling to tell me. She takes a deep breath, 'It's my father's birthday today', and she says quietly refusing to look at me properly.

'Oh', I say in answer trying to think of something to say.

She sighs quietly. 'It doesn't matter. Let's just get on with it…' her hands shake less as she hands me her bow and an arrow. She's getting better at handing the bow over. She hasn't told me directly, but I know that her father made it. This is one reason why I always take it with extreme care. I place the arrow in carefully and aim it. 'Good', she says at a whisper, 'but you need to make this arm a little straighter,' she touches my arm and straightens it just slightly for me. She let's go again and we both go completely silent, neither of us moving an inch. So far in one month I've hit nothing the first time, and never a clean kill like Katniss. I can't help but admire her archery skill with envy. The kills she makes are always perfect and the animal always dead before it hits the ground. I don't tell her how amazing at it I think she is. But maybe she knows. We wait for several minutes before a turkey finally comes into sight. 'Take your time and be patient', Katniss breathes, and so that her voice sounds as though it is part of the wind.

That's been my problem so far, she tells me that I'm so quick to react that I lose my aim in my haste. She tells me that's why I'm better at snares because I can set it and go off to make more while I wait, whereas with a bow and arrow everything is about patience. So I wait. I watch with narrowed eyes making sure the turkey is directly in my aim. The bird leans its head down to peck at the ground. And I release the arrow. It shoots straight through the air and into the turkey's body. It falls to the ground.

I look automatically up at Katniss. 'You did it Gale!' she says her voice full of excitement and she smiles at me.

My heart skips a beat and then it drums slowly before accelerating hard. She just smiled at me for the first time. I grin back at her. Who cared about my victory of shooting the turkey with a pretty near perfect aim? I'd just made another victory of finally having a smile from Katniss. How it changed her face. Usually Katniss' face was hard and mask like. It was often like she had no emotion except for disapproval. Though sometimes, I could detect her feelings through her eyes. But when she smiled it lit her face to a healthy colour, it made her grey eyes shine beautifully. It made her look sunny. Her smile was all it had taken for me to develop feelings for her. And I was a goner.


End file.
